Can it ever be that simple?
by 9292010
Summary: The team is given a week off after a particularly tough case. With Emily injured, JJ chooses to stay with her as they prepare for a holiday of their own.


I'm not a writer, but I love this pairing. Criticism is welcome.

A burning pain spread through Emily's chest. Less than a second and the impact had rippled through her entire body. The point of impact was already painfully numb; the surrounding areas quickly swelled a flush red, marking her fair skin with the first stages of bruising. An overwhelming coldness on the back of her head contrasted the colossal heat racing through her body. She was on the ground. Breaths coming in short and quick, hand grasping at her chest, expecting to encounter gushing blood. Instead, a scorching pain spread through her fingertips as she touched the still hot bullet lodged in her vest. No more than five millimeters between life and death. She tries to sit up, only now registering the commotion surrounding her. She's pushed back down onto the cold floor. She covers her ears, hoping to stop the incessant ringing echoing within them, only to be met with a warm and sticky substance. Blood. Suddenly an excruciating pain radiates from her head, pushing the burning sensation in her chest to the back of her mind. When did that happen?

 _Emily!_. Someone's talking to her. The noise is muffled by the blood covering her ear, they're still talking. _Emily can you hear me? '_ Yes! Yes, I can hear you' she thinks. 'Stop shouting'.

She turns towards the voice. It's JJ. She looks worried. The pain in her chest is back again as a cough squeezes out the air that she so desperately needed. Curling onto her side, her head should have hit the cold ground but there was a soft hand holding it up. _Emily?_ She tries again to get up, this time she's met with no resistance. A gentle hand is guiding her to sit up straight. She's looking at JJ again. 'Wow, her eyes are really blue'.

She's smiling at Emily. There's an army of people walking behind her. Evidence of their current situation. Emily looks to her left; Owen Craig lay motionless in a pool of his own blood, eyes wide open, and looking right at her. There's no sympathy. From either of them. He's incapable, and after so long on the job, she might be too. He's no longer in her view as JJ steps back into frame, guiding Emily's head towards her own.

"Hey. You had us worried" It warms Emily to know just how much she cares. Even after knowing her for seven years, she's never taken it for granted.

"Sorry" Emily choked out. Suddenly feeling pain in every breath she took, and every word she spoke. She winced as a copper taste of blood filled her mouth. It must be from her head.

"Hey, don't speak" She was wiping around her mouth now with her thumb. Re-directing the blood that was heading straight for her lips. She wiped it off on her Kevlar, leaving bloody fingerprints behind. She's smiling again. "You're going to go to the hospital and… nope, no protesting" Emily shut her mouth "That wasn't a request".

She's looking down towards to ground now, and back up. She's smiling but it doesn't reach her ocean blue eyes.

"You really scared us." She paused and averted her eyes. "You really scared me."

The ambulance is here and JJ's being ushered away to make room for them. With one last look she slips out of the basement, and out of sight.

X

She knows the drill by now. They all do. Every trip is always the same. Emily's falling asleep, but the searing white lights won't let her go. They burn with every blink, turning the whites of her eyes an angry red. It's been a few hours since everything went down, and the agent's sitting on the edge of her hospital bed. Feet tangled in the sheets hanging off the edge, a small relief from the fiercely air-conditioned hospital room. There's a dull ache in her chest again, giving a small preview for the pain that will no doubt be present in the morning. Her team is finishing up paperwork, and she's waiting for a ride. They won't let her leave without supervision. The thought alone makes her fists curl around the bed sheets in frustration.

"Agent Prentiss?" She catches her breath, and gasps out a cough. Surprised by the smooth voice of the ER nurse behind her. She twists around on the bed, curling into her side when the skin of her chest brushes against the hospital gown. The nurse is a comforting motherly type, something that Emily herself has never experienced in the Prentiss estate. Her own mother's stern exterior was not at all misleading of her true nature. Cold and distant. "Sorry to scare you, but Agent Jareau is here to pick you up."

"Your clothes are in the draw, and when you're done if you could just sign a few forms at reception?"

She nods, almost imperceptibly. Already scrambling to gather her clothing, only to be reminded of the bullet she took to the chest just a few hours earlier. Her pace slows, her impatience growing.

"Thank you. I'll be out in a minuet" Her voice is gravely, and tired. She has to clear her throat, and try again. _Thank you. I'll be out in a minuet._

"Take you time" And with that, the nurse moves on.

X

JJ is waiting by reception, staring off into the chaos of night shift. A man was just wheeled in, suicide attempt she overheard. A litre of bleach straight down the esophagus will singe anything in its path. Unbearable pain, never concentrated to just one spot. It decimates all your senses, leaving the smell of burning flesh in its path, and making every breath excruciatingly painful. There are easier ways to do it. Perhaps he was punishing himself.

She can see Emily round the corner, heading straight for her. The clothes she wore to the raid hung snugly around her figure. Just looking at them; you wouldn't know what she'd been through. The wounded agent glances up, chocolate eyes meeting the impossibly blue ones of the fairer agent. She's reminded of the warehouse, of JJ's concern. A small smile tugs at the corner of her lips as she makes her way over.

"You're here to break me out"

A chuckle escapes Agent Jareau, "It was either that, or you break yourself out. I can just imagine you climbing out the second story window for a fast getaway"

"Hey! I wouldn't do that… I was on the third floor" with that she saunters past her partner, throwing a smug glance over her should. "Are you coming?"

"Aren't you forgetting something Em?"

The confused expression from the brunette answers that question quickly. "The paperwork".

A blush covers Emily's cheeks as she walks back. Eyes fixated directly ahead, she clears her throat. "Right. Of course."


End file.
